Doctor Doom
- For other uses of this name, see Doctor Doom (disambiguation).
Doctor Doom is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Victor Von Doom was originally born to a gypsy family in the European nation of Latveria. Von Doom's father Werner was a gifted hearler while his mother Cynthia was a practicing sorceress. Von Doom's tribe of gypsies was frequently persecuted by the Baron of Latveria. Cynthia was visited by the demon Mephisto and sold her soul in exchange for Latveria becoming a gypsy paradise and her son Victor its king, as well as gifted with great power, which shortly destroyed her.
One day, their gypsy encampment was visited by soldiers on behalf of the Baron where they brought him to the castle. Once there, it was revealed that the Baron's wife was suffering from an illness and Werner was tasked with using his potions to heal her. However, he was unable to save her life and did not believe she would survive the morning. Werner knew that the baron would be enraged after his wife's death and upon returning to his gypsy encampment he decided to flee alongside his son. This allowed them to evade the baron's soldiers who were enacting their masters wrath that would have put the pair to death. Werner ad the young Victor then fled across the landscape where they had to bear through the harsh elements. Ultimately, Werner came to suffer fatally from the harsh conditions whilst his son only barely survived in thick warm clothing where he was found by Boris who took him to safety. The two were take to safety but the journey had been too much for Werner who died shortly afterwards with the young Victor swearing revenge on all humanity. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2)
As a teenager, Victor was taken in by Boris, a friend of his father's. Victor soon discovered a gift left to him by his mother, a chest containing herbs, medicines and other artifacts of great power. He began to delve into their secrets, growing obsessed with knowledge and power and while doing so, becoming distant to his girlfriend Valeria.
In time, Victors reputation began to grow until one day he was visited by a stranger who was an American and the Dean of Science at State University. He had spent months trying to find Doom and after seeing his inventions was prepared to offer him a scholarship at his university. Victor accepted as he reasoned that this would allow him access to the latest scientific apparatuses and asked Boris to remain behind where he promised to reward him upon his return. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2)
Von Doom was later offered a science scholarship at Empire State University in New York City, and upon arriving met another student named Reed Richards. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2) Around this time, his keen intellect drew the special interest of Doctor Alexi Cronus who was the greatest robotics expert in the world. He came to take Doom on as an apprentice leading to Victor developing a mastery of robotics. (Spider-Man 2099 v3 #2)
Later he began pursuing forbidden experiments, trying to figure out how to communicate with his mother's soul in Hell. Richards discovered Von Doom's notes and an error in his calculations. Von Doom refused to listen and threw Reed out. Von Doom began his experiment with his machine which exploded, injuring Von Doom. While recovering, Doom was expelled, and forever on Von Doom blamed Richards for his failure. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2) According to one account, no one was aware that Ben Grimm had been responsible for tampering with the machine causing it to explode. (Fantastic Four v4 #5AU)
Seeking to learn more magic, he went in search for the sorcerer known as the Aged Genghis where he sought to apprentice himself to the aged spellcaster. However, the Aged Genghis took no students and Doom came to attack him when the man said that Victor's face only suffered a minor disfigurement. It was then that that old sorcerer directed Doom to hidden paths to an order of holy men that resided in high Tibet where he claimed to the traveller that he would find his destiny with them. He travelled for months across harsh terrain until he came upon them where the holy men came to care for him and he eventually became their master. (Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment v1 #1)
The accident also left a thin scar along one side of his face, the egotistical Von Doom believed this one scar had ruined his entire face, and soon left America for Tibet where he was taken in by a secret order of monks, learning their secrets and eventually becoming their master. The monks helped him forge a suit of armor and a metal mask. In his haste to cover his face, Von Doom donned the mask before it had completely cooled, thereby truly and permanently disfiguring Von Doom's entire face.
Calling himself Doctor Doom, Doom left Tibet and returned to Latveria and quickly overthrew the ruling monarchy and established a new monarchy with himself as master of Latveria. Doom succeeded in bringing peace and prosperity to Latveria while ruling it with an iron fist. He renamed the capital Doomstadt and built a castle as his new home and headquarters. He then desired to bring this same peace and prosperity to the entire world, and began to plan world conquest.
At some point, a Latverian engineer named Bram Velsing came to voice plans to take over the nation with these being discovered by Doctor Doom. He had the man punished by having a skull-shaped mask permanently bonded to his face. The man would be forced to flee his country where he came to be known as the supervillain Dreadknight. (Iron Man v1 #102)
Doctor Doom
Doom then captured the new superhero group led by Richards called the Fantastic Four and failed to use and destroy them, but became their greatest and most bitter enemy. He has also encountered and become enemies with many other heroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Avengers, the X-Men and many others.
Dr. Doom soon learned that his rival Reed Richards and his flight crew had gained super-human powers after being exposed to cosmic rays and formed a group of costumed adventurers known as the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v1 #1) He attacked the group at their headquarters within the Baxter Building in New York City. During this battle he took the Invisible Girl Sue Storm prisoner and forced Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards, the Human Torch Johnny Storm, and the Thing Ben Grim to accompany him back to his castle in the Adirondack Mountains. There Doom used Sue as a hostage to force Reed and the other members of the team to use his Time-Platform to travel back in time and recover Blackbeard's treasure chest which Doom believed to have contained a mystical gem that was once used by the 6th century sorcerer known as Merlin. While the three heroes succeeded in recovering the chest, they dumped its contents out in the past and replaced it with chains. Furious, Doom locked them up in a death trap but they were ultimately freed by the Invisible Girl and Doom was forced to flee. (Fantastic Four v1 #5) Doom then sought an alliance with another Fantastic Four foe, the recently revived Sub-Mariner, promising to Namor that he could have the Invisible Girl once he vanquished Reed Richards. Forming an uneasy alliance, Doom convinced Namor to infiltrate the Baxter Building and plant a magnetic grabber within the building. While Namor kept the Fantastic Four occupied, Doom used his magnetic device to pull the Baxter Building into space, intending to toss it into the sun, betraying Namor to the same fate as well. Namor then put aside his differences with the Fantastic Four to stop Doom, sending him fleeing his ship into space and seemingly getting lost in a meteor belt, allowing the heroes to return their headquarters to Earth. (Fantastic Four v1 #6)
Doom was briefly plucked from time and brought a few years ahead into the future where he was forced by the Headmen and the monster Orrgo to battle their foes the Defenders. Doom and the other villains brought forward in time were easily defeated and returned to their own time, presumably with no memory of what happened. (Defenders v2 #10) Whilst trapped on the speeding meteor, he was carried into deep space but was then encountered by beings from another galaxy known as the Ovoids. They were beings with a science and culture that were millions of years more advanced than Earth. At first, he was hostile to them but came to learn that they were peaceful beings where he came to learn their mental techniques. Among these abilities was the power to switch their mind and move it into another body. After learning their secrets, he came to convince the peaceful aliens to return him to Earth where Doctor Doom engaged in a new scheme to destroy the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v1 #10) First, he obtained the aid of Nazi war criminal Otto Kronsteig to develop a shrinking ray. When the ray was complete he then turned it against Kronsteig, shrinking him out of sight. (Incredible Hulk v1 #155) Learning that Reed Richards had licensed the Fantastic Four's adventures to be adapted into comic books published by Marvel Comics, Dr. Doom went to their New York offices and took writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby hostage to lure Richards there. Doom then used the Ovoids technique to switch bodies with Richards then tricked the Fantastic Four in subduing Richards -- now trapped in Doom's body -- and subduing him in an air tight container that Doom planned to have him suffocate in. Doom then convinced the members of the Fantastic Four that by using his shrink ray he could potentially boost their powers to great levels, intending to use the ray to shrink them to nothingness like he did with Kronsteig. However, Richards broke free and caused his teammates to doubt in the situation. When the Human Torch created a heat mirage of a stick of TNT which 'Dr. Doom' selflessly shielded his teammates from, this convinced the group that Doom had indeed taken possession of their leader's body. With this revelation the process instantly reversed. In trying to escape his foes, Doom became victim of his own shrink ray, seemingly shrinking away to nothing. (Fantastic Four v1 #10)
He came to survive through his jet-powered belt that allowed him to glide safely back to the ground where he looked to recover from his recent defeat. Seeking an advantage over the Fantastic Four, Doom's attention came to be drawn to the masked Spider-Man. He came to believe that having this superpowered being join him would give him an advantage over the Four. Using a spider, he came to construct a spider-wave transmitter that tapped into the hero's Spider-Sense allowing him to communicate with masked Wall-Crawler. The vigilante met with Doctor Doom where he attempted to appeal to his pride in the hope of enlisting him but Spider-Man refused and instead used his webbing to capture the Latverian dictator. This though was a Doombot as Doom had anticipated this move and attacked the hero who was forced to escape. Doctor Doom then destroyed the warehouse where he decided to learn the hero's secret identity in order to coerce his compliance. He came to spy on Spider-Man and managed to capture him but was unware that this person was simply a teenager who had been wearing a costume. The kidnapping attracted the attention of the real Spider-Man leading to a battle between the pair. Ultimately, Doom was forced to retreat as the Fantastic Four were arriving at the site causing him to abandon his plans for Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #5)
Afterwards, the sovereign of Latveria came to learn of the existence of the Silver Surfer who wielded the Power Cosmic. Coveting this power, he orchestrated an elaborate trap for the Herald of Galactus. He first sent an invitation to the Silver Surfer to visit his kingdom where Doctor Doom provided the former Herald a tour of Castle Doom. This included the laboratory-workshop where he placed an apparatus on the Surfer when he was distracted and proceeded to steal the Power Cosmic from him. (Fantastic Four v1 #57) He then imprisoned the Silver Surfer whereupon Doom decided to unleash his new-found might against the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v1 #58)
Ruling the throne again, he went about managing the rebuilding of Latveria. By this point, von Doom came to learn that Doctor Strange was in search of a disciple. Doom had considered taking the role in order to learn deeper mystical secrets but ultimately passed on the opportunity to focus on the reconstruction of Latveria. (Fantastic Four v1 #258)
Emperor Doom
Doom later orchestrated a new plan to conquer the world with this involving the construction of the Psycho-Prism that was to be powered by the Purple Man. This involved kidnapping Zebediah Killgrave who was imprisoned in the device which augmented his powers on a global scale. With this power, Doom was able to manipulate the United Nations and every government where he had them legally declare himself to be emperor of the Earth. Under Doom's rule, the planet saw a period of prosperity, equality and an end to war as well as hunger. However, this came at the cost of the people's free will and over time Doctor Doom felt his victory was almost meaningless due to a lack of any challenge to achieve or even maintain his goal. In this time, a single Avenger arose to challenge Doom with this being the Wonder Man whose unique physiology made him immune to Doom's mind control. Wonder Man came to free several of his fellow teammates from Doctor Doom leading to an attack on Doom Island where the Psycho-Prism was located. The dissatisfaction Doctor Doom caused him to give up any chance of preventing the heroes from destroying the device. With its destruction, the Earth was freed from Doom's control thus returning everything back to normal. (Marvel Graphic Novel: Emperor Doom — Starring the Mighty Avengers v1 #1)
Triumph and Torment
He came to hear the mystical summoning of the Vishanti where he journeyed to the Temple of the Three deep in the jungles of Indonesia with him participating in the mystical duels that determined who would be the next Sorcerer Supreme. (Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment v1 #1)
Doom has been thought dead numerous times but has always come back, and if alternate futures we've seen have shown anything, Doom will remain a threat to the world for a very long time.
Counter-Earth
When Franklin Richards was kidnapped by Onslaught, Doom who saw this as an opportunity to steal the being's powers and joined the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the X-Men to battle Onslaught in Central Park. An enraged Hulk was able to crack open Onslaught's shell, however, the villain remained as a being of pure psionic energy. Onslaught proceeded to separate Hulk and Banner whilst planning to spread across the planet. Thor then plunged into Onslaught in an effort to try and contain their foe. The Fantastic Four, the majority of Avengers, the Hulk-less Banner, and even Doom who had been grabbed by Iron Man followed the Asgardian. As a result of their sacrifice, the X-Men finally managed to destroy Onslaught and end the threat the villain posed to the world. (Onslaught: Marvel v1 #1)
When Susan Richards experiences problems with her second pregnancy while Reed is away, Johnny contacts Doom for help, correctly guessing that Doom will be unable to pass up a chance to succeed where Reed failed (Due to the complex events involving the recent resurrection of Galactus, this pregnancy is a 'repeat' of an earlier one where Sue miscarried). Doom not only saves Sue's daughter, but also cures Johnny of a recent problem with his powers where Johnny was unable to 'flame off' without technological support after becoming overcharged with energy from the Negative Zone, by channeling Johnny's excess energy into Sue to keep her alive. After the birth, Doom's only apparent condition for his aid is that he be allowed to name Sue and Reed's daughter, calling her 'Valeria' after his long-lost love. However, this inspires a new plan where Doom makes Valeria his familiar while seeking out her namesake as part of a deal with a trio of demons known as the Hazareth Three; by sacrificing his old lover, Doom is granted magical powers on the level he would possess if he had spent the past years studying sorcery rather than science, beginning with Valeria's skin becoming his new armor. (Fantastic Four v3 #67) With this new power, Doom traps Franklin in Hell, immobilizes Doctor Strange, and then neutralizes the FF's powers, torturing the other three while taunting Reed by leaving him in his magical library, comparing it to giving a dog a road-map as he concludes that it will be impossible for Reed to master sufficient magical skill to be a threat to him. (Fantastic Four v3 #70) However, Reed is able to release Doctor Strange's astral self from Doom's traps, allowing Strange to give Reed a sufficient crash-course in magic for Reed to free the rest of the team and trick Doom into angering his demonic benefactors, prompting them to take him to Hell. (Fantastic Four v1 #500)
Dark Reign
Trapped in Hell, he was surrounded by demons and nearly overwhelmed when the hammer of Thor Mjolnir came crashing through the dimensions as it made its way to Earth in the way of Ragnarok. This provided Doom with an opportunity to escape where he returned to Earth and regained control of Latveria. With his nation's military, he came to track down Mjolnir and attempted to seize the power of the hammr for himself after believing he was chosen as its wielder after aiding his escape from Hell. However, he came to find that he was not chosen as worthy by Mjolnir and was thwarted in his scheme. (Fantastic Four v1 #537)
Later on, a Latverian satellite carrying the Venom Virus cam to be incidentally deployed on New York City where it came to infect many of the populace. In response, Iron Man led S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Mighty Avengers in an attack on Latveria in order to arrest Doctor Doom. (Mighty Avengers v1 #8)
After the Skrull Invasion was defeated, Doctor Doom came to find himself invited in the newly formed Cabal thus joining Norman Osborn, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki, and the Hood. (Secret Invasion: Dark Reign v1 #1)
Intelligencia
He was then attacked by Skaar and seemingly by the Hulk himself though this turned out to be the Cosmic Hulk robot. However, the robot was rigged with a radiant neural anesthetizer designed by the Leader to remove Doom's intelligence. Thus, he lost his status as among the top minds on the planet and unable to work his own technology thus crippling him in the process. (Incredible Hulk v1 #606)
Afterwards, Valeria Richards contacted him about admission into the Future Foundation and to help in defeating the Interdimensional Council of Reeds. Doom agreed but on the condition that she help restore his intellect with the two having a deal. Upon entry into the Foundation, its members set forward on the task where they determined that his brain structure had remained intact. Thus, Valeria concluded that they could restore Doctor Doom if they had a backup brain scan. He determined that such a scan was present in the mind of Kristoff Vernard his heir who was ruling Latveria's throne in Doom's stead at this time. With his assistance, they copied over only some of the brain patterns to restore Doctor Doom where he agreed to accomplish his part in the bargain. (FF v1 #2)
Later on, he came to be the target of Lucia von Bardas who began to work in a plot with the Red Ghost. (Winter Soldier v1 #1)
Secret Wars
With Owen Reece, he travelled through a doorway into the Multiverse where the Molecule Man accounted his true origins as a living bomb created by the Beyonders. The extradimensional beings had now sought to end their experiment and intended to ignite the Molecule Men to destroy the Multiverse. To stop them, Reece showed Doom the Library of Worlds that would be a place from which he could build his forces and participate in the Game of Worlds. The time-altering effects of the Multiverse meant that Doom was able to operate across a 25 year period whilst only a short time passed in the real world. Thus, he began to murder the various incarnations of the Molecule Man thus disrupting the Beyonders great experiment and participated in the events that led to the Incursions affecting the worlds in the Multiverse. (New Avengers v3 #33)
From the Beyonders, Doom gained god-like power which he used to salvage the remains of the many realities which he brought together into a patchwork planet called Battleworld. As its God-Emperor, he came to rule it with an iron fist with the aid of Stephen Strange who served as its sheriff. (Secret Wars v1 #3) Empowering him in secret was the Molecule Man who was kept in a hidden chamber on the planet. (Secret Wars v1 #5)
Unknown to him, Richards came to alter Victor's memories to make him believe that Reed had died. This was under the belief that Doom would never end his vendetta against Reed Richards. Thus, Doom came to believe his rival had died and it was hoped that this would lead to him to becoming a better man as a result. (Marvel 2-In-One Annual v1 #1) In addition, Reed came to heal the scars on Victor's face before returning him back to Earth-616's Latveria. (Secret Wars v1 #9)
Infamous Iron Man
Doom then went through a period of self-reflection over his time as a god which led to him undergoing a personal realisation. This was that if power was not his calling hen the opposite could be true where he determined to be a force for good in the world. (Infamous Iron Man v1 #3) This new perspective caused him to abdicate the throne of Latveria and left his kingdom to chart his new path. Prior to leaving his nation, Victor came to appoint his top military mind namely General Garadick as the new temporary head of state under the belief that he would head the transition of Latveria into a free state. (Infamous Iron Man v1 #4)
With Tony Stark disappearing, Doom began to debate on someone taking over the mantle and making the world a better place. He first struck at Diablo's lair in order to save the captive Maria Hill after which he went to Stark Tower before deciding to take the mantle of Iron Man. (Infamous Iron Man v1 #1) He then struck at the Mad Thinker who was operating in Bolivia where he eliminated him along with his robotic creations. Victor then approached Amara Perera in Cambridge once again who tended to his wounds when he was confronted by the Thing who was operating as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. sent to hunt Doom down. (Infamous Iron Man v1 #2)
He responded to a Chronosite infestation by the Baxter Building and helped the Avengers by eliminating it. Doom then asked for their aid to help shut down demonic rituals that were being conducted at the Susan Storm for Girls Leadership. (Avengers v7 #7)
The thought of Reed perishing at someone else beside his hands was something that Doom could not tolerate. Thus, he decided to look for clues at to Richard's possible survival and went through the Baxter Building. Whilst there, he uncovered the Multisect and gave it to Ben Grimm as his 'inheritance'. (Marvel 2-In-One v1 #1)
Return of Doom
In the aftermath, Doom decided to seclude himself in his abandoned castle as the country fell to a tyrant regime. During this time, a resistance formed against the cruel tyrant with one of their number being a young woman named Zora Vukovic. She infiltrated the castle to confirm the rumour of Doctor Doom's return and begged for his return to the throne. Initially, he was reluctant but the words of Zora came to inspire Victor to return to being the ruler of Latveria. Without any aid or his armour, he went to confront the tyrant that was causing pain to his homeland where he deposed them and returned to being the monarch of the nation. (Fantastic Four v6 #1)
He then sensed a coming danger in space and sought to oppose it but to do that he looked to rally power by his side. (Guardians of the Galaxy v6 #14) Part of this involved secretly helping Dormammu manifest in the universe by having his ally the Skrull named Sister Talionis help in this plot that involved stealing the Faltine's great power for himself. (Guardians of the Galaxy v6 #18)
This involved coming to Hala where he usurp control of Emperor Hulkling's body in order to take over the Kree/Skrull Alliance to prepare to fight the coming threat. His actions though led to him in conflict with the Guardians of the Galaxy where they exploited Doctor Doom's pride over swapping his body with Hulkling. Using the Ovoid technique, he attempted to return to his body when Moondragon directed his mind into Rocket's body. Trapped in the raccoon's form, Doom had to accept defeat where he revealed that he was looking to stop a coming danger. It was then that Star-Lord decided to invite him into the ranks of the Guardians of the Galaxy. (Guardians of the Galaxy v6 #14)
As the war progressed, Doom was able to determine that Dormammu was striking five worlds of spiritual importance in order to create a cosmic scaled pentagram in order to merge the universe with the Dark Dimension. The Guardians split into different groups to oppose the Dread Dormammu where Doom had made a deal with Rigellians so that he could gain one of their terraforming assistance platforms. This was used to help build his Doombots as the Guardians went to Chitauri Prime whose inhabitants had been possessed by Dormammu. (Guardians of the Galaxy v6 #17) With the Guardians aid, they were able to fire an anti-magic Mysterium projectile to banish Dormammu back to his realm. In the process, part of the Faltine's power was taken by Doctor Doom where it was kept contained in his armour and ready for the coming reckoning that would engulf the cosmos. (Guardians of the Galaxy v6 #18)
After the death of Doctor Strange, Doom looked to claim the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme but was rebuffed as the title had been claimed by Clea. (Strange v3 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He once operated under the fake identity of a synthe-clone named Vincent Vaughn. (Fantastic Four v1 #236) In time, his reputation led to him being known as the Beast of the Balkans. (Runaways v2 #5) A time travelling Doom once operated in Eisendorf around 500 years ago where he was known as the Baron of Iron. (Captain America v5 #23) To stop the Beyonders, he came embroiled in the Game of Worlds and took the name Rabum Alal. (New Avengers v3 #31) For a time, he took the identity of Iron Man following the disappearance of Tony Stark. (Infamous Iron Man v1 #1)
He was said to have had the feats of a demi-god and the cunning of a demon. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2) Doom thought of himself as being a cold, ruthless and implacable figure who was above human emotion. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #20)
After the death of his parents, he came to swear revenge against all mankind and to make them pay. From a young age, he vowed to become powerful and strong in order to avenge his parents deaths. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2)
Considered the equal of Reed Richards, von Doom noted that he had one weakness in that he could never fully understand other human beings. (Fantastic Four v1 #17)
Doom did not believe that there was anyone that was his rival or equal. (Fantastic Four v1 #258) He had said that he had no desire to be a mere man when he could be so much more. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #20) Power was said to had always been his god. (Fantastic Four v1 #57)
He believed that the most beautiful moment of the day was when the dawn was being born with him replaying it constantly for himself. (Fantastic Four: 1234 v1 #1)
It was said that his father was a gently kindly man who had dedicated his life towards healing and made use of a range of potions for the task. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2)
His father was Werner von Doom who was noted for being a doctor. Meanwhile, his mother was said to had been a sorceress who had shown no fear no matter the odds. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2) On his mother, he stated that she was a good woman who only ever sought to protect her family and people. Victor was noted to had long attempted to free his mother's soul from the grasps of an unholy demon. (Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment v1 #1)
In his youth, he came to fall in love with a girl named Valeria. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #20) After his father died, she became his world and helped him escape the ignobility of common man. A crossroads came in their relationship though when he was present with a chance to study abroad, Unlike Victor, Valeria had family obligations and refused to leave their people. Thus, she gave Victor an ultimatum between the knowledge he could gain rom his studies or staying with her. Ultimately, he would choose to go abroad thus leading to an end in their relationship. Many years later, he would sacrifice her to a cabal of netherdemons in order to attain greater power in the mystical arts. Part of this exchange involved him sacrificing something he loved which was Valeria where after she died he admitted that he would miss her. (Fantastic Four v3 #67)
Among the closest people to him was Boris who had cared for Victor since the death of his parents. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2)
He later came to serve as the guardian of Kristoff Vernard who became his ward and heir. (Fantastic Four v1 #258)
Unknown to him, Morgan le Fay came to be pregnant with his daughter during their brief affair when he travelled back in time to the time of Camelot. She gave birth to a daughter named Caroline le Fay who was not raised by either parent but instead sent into the modern age where she was cared for by Morgan's loyal wealthy servants. The young Caroline knew not why she was sent away but believed that it was part of her mother's grand strategy in conquering the world and thought that she was instrumental in achieving this goal. (Fearless Defenders v1 #4)
Powers and abilities
Doom's bionic armor is equal to Iron Man's, as he can fly, breathe in space or under water and fire energy blasts, and features numerous hidden weapons and gadgets as well as control over his minions. Doom also has robotic doubles called Doombots which can serve as perfect doubles and decoys.
He was regarded as being among the top mortal minds on the planet. (Incredible Hulk v1 #606) Doom was regarded as the foremost expert in robotics having learnt from Doctor Cronus who had been his mentor. (Spider-Man 2099 v3 #2)
Doom had trained in unarmed combat where he was able to hit with a precise single blow to the point where the brainstem met the spine thus killing a target in an instant and painless manner. (Doom v1 #1) It was said that he had faced the best swordsmen and fencing masters of the crowned heads in Europe where he first was a student before becoming a master in the art. (Super-Villain Team-Up v1 #13)
His initial forays into the arts of magic and even science came from studying the contents of a chest that once belonged to his mother. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2) At some point, he came to gain a great deal of magical power through a deal he made with a trio of demons named the Hazareth Three. (Fantastic Four v3 #69) For further knowledge of the dark arts, he was known to had gone back in time to the era of Camelot where he learnt from Morgan fe Fay. (Dark Avenger v1 #1) He was able to bind himself to another person by whispering a series of incantations and spells with him conducting such a ritual on a newborn Valeria Richards making her a conduit to his sorcery allowing her to always keep observe her mystically. (Fantastic Four v3 #68) Doom through magical means was able to nullify the abilities in superhuman beings leaving them powerless. (Fantastic Four v3 #70)
He was also able to summon creatures to aid him such as the mighty Mindless Ones. (Fantastic Four v3 #70)
With a gesture, he was able to open magical portals into hell dimensions. (Fantastic Four v3 #70)
From the Ovoids, he came to learn their secret mental techniques with the greatest being the power to switch their mind into another body. (Fantastic Four v1 #10)
The micro-computers within his armor were able to analyse the infrared waves through the optics allowing him to study and learn mystical combat techniques of others without having to engage in years of study. (Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment v1 #1) It was also capable of storing great magical energy stolen from other sources that could be used at a later point. (Guardians of the Galaxy v6 #18) For protection, it was able to generate 100,000 mega volts of pure energy to throw off anyone holding him. (Marvel Super-Heroes v1 #20) He created a new version of his armour that was similar in appearance to that of the Iron Man Armour. (Infamous Iron Man v1 #1)
The armor was said to be insulated which protected him from certain energy surges. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #5) With the armor, he was able to create cubes of ultra-dense molecular bonds and constantly shifting field frequencies to cage a target. (Heroes Reborn: Ashema v1 #1)
A jet-powered flying belt that would allow him to glide safely back to the ground from great heights. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #5)
For armaments, he made use of miniature finger-guns that were said to be most effective weapons. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #5)
Among his creations included:
- Bio-Enhancer :
- Victorium :
- Solartron :
- Robotron :
- Pacifier :
- Followers : humanoid shaped constructs that operated in a phased-state that meant that they could not be harmed and they were sent by their master to follow specific targets of interest. (Fantastic Four v1 #17)
- Invincible Robots :
- Latviathans : giant robots that were akin to Sentinels with these titanic machines tasked with the protection of Latveria. (X-Men / Fantastic Four v2 #4)
- Psycho-Prism :
- Prime Mover : a machine recovered from a downed alien vessel that allowed him to alter reality itself and shape it according to his desires where he used it to make subtle changes to events akin to chess pieces. (Fantastic Four: 1234 v1 #4)
- Time Platform :
Since his early forays into science, he was able to create a mechanical man robotic duplicate of himself. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2) His creations were all managed by his Doombot Protocol that governed their programming. (Infamous Iron Man v1 #4)
He built a backdoor access in all his machines allowing to speak through any of them. (Fantastic Four: 1234 v1 #1)
From childhood, he came to find a chest that belonged to his sorceress mother and through it learnt her secrets. These included magic potions and strange scientific secrets. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #2)
Upon hearing of the Silver Surfer, he came to covet the might of the Power Cosmic. This led to Doctor Doom to create an apparatus whose inductors came to drain the Power Cosmic from the Herald of Galactus and transfer it to himself. (Fantastic Four v1 #57) With it, he could increase the density of his own physical atoms thus greatly increasing his own strength to superhuman levels. (Fantastic Four v1 #58) After then, he sought to recreate the Power Cosmic and had dedicated scientists working on the project but it was determined at the time that the artificially re-created power might be too unstable for the human body to contain. Despite that, he was able to stir a spark of the Power Cosmic in a former wielder of the power though it was only for a short time. (Fantastic Four v1 #258) Victor later had built a variation of the Power Cosmic that he could imbue in others and gift them superhuman abilities. (Fantastic Four v6 #7)
He maintained an huge flying ship that was known as the Flying Fortress which was one thousand feet long and two hundred fifty feet at its widest. (Avengers v1 #1.5) The vessel served as an incredible floating laboratory. (Fantastic Four v1 #17)
In the Game of Worlds, he came to build a religion where he had an army of disciples to serve him. (New Avengers v3 #31) These followers consisted of an all female order of warriors that began with a single survivor that Rabum Alal had saved. (New Avengers v3 #33) These came to be known as the Black Swans whose Great Ladies served their master and offered sacrifices in his name. (New Avengers v3 #5)
Notes
- Doctor Doom was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Fantastic Four v1 #5 (July, 1962).
- In The Silver Age of Comic Book Art (2003), it was noted that Kirby had modelled the character on the concept of Death, ""It was the reason for the armor and the hood. Death is connected with armor and the inhuman-like steel. Death is something without mercy, and human flesh contains that mercy."
- In Wizard (2006) magazine, the character was ranked #4 in their list of the 101 Greatest Villains of All Time.
- In Incredible Hulk v3 (2011), a character named Amanda von Doom appeared who had some unknown tie to Doctor Doom and the von Doom family though this was never elaborated on with her operating as part of the Mad Squad who hunted mad scientists on behalf of the U.S. government.
Alternate Versions
- In X-Universe v1 #1 (1995), an alternate version of Doctor Doom appeared as an inhabitant of the Age of Apocalypse on Earth-295 in the Multiverse.
- In Exiles v3 #10 (2018), an alternate version known as Caliph Doom appeared in a world in the Multiverse that was modelled after an Arabian setting. This version sought the Ring of Solomon where he commanded the Djinn Mephisto to serve his will. Caliph Victor Doom took on many wives some of whom he forcibly married with one being Nocturne.
- In Heroes Reborn v2 #1 (2021), an alternate version named Dr. Juggernaut appeared as an inhabitant of Earth-TRN852. This version was Victor von Doom who was deposed as ruler as ruler of Latveria by Hyperion leading to him seeking greater power by acquiring the Crimson of Cyttorak.
In other media
Television
- In The Marvel Super Heroes, Doctor Doom made his first appearance in the setting of the 1966 animated television series during the Namor segment in the episode "Dr. Doom's Day" where he was voiced by actor Henry Ramer.
- In Spider-Man, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the 1980 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Ralph James.
- In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Doctor Doom appeared in the 1980 animated television series in the episode "The Fantastic Mr. Frump" where he was voiced by actor Shepard Menken.
- In Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Christopher Britton.
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in a number of episodes in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Lex Lang.
- In Ultimate Spider-Man, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Maurice LaMarche.
- In Avengers Assemble, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced once again by actor Maurice LaMarche.
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series in the episode "Red Rover" where he was voiced again by actor Maurice LaMarche.
Films
- In Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the 2005 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Julian McMahon.
- In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the 2007 live-action film where he was once more portrayed by actor Julian McMahon.
- In Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom appeared as an antagonist in the 2015 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Toby Kebbell.
Video games
- In The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge!, Doctor Doom appeared as the final boss in the setting of the side-scrolling video game.
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Doctor Doom appeared as a major antagonist and final boss in the 2006 roleplaying video game where he was voiced by actor Clive Revill.
- In Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, Doctor Doom appeared as a playable character in the 2012 fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Fred Tatasciore.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Doctor Doom appeared as a character in the Facebook video game with his own Dossier.
- In Marvel Heroes, Doctor Doom appeared in the story mode, as a non-playable character and as a playable character in the MMORPG where he was voiced by actor Lex Lang.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Doctor Doom appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
- In Marvel: Contest of Champions, Doctor Doom appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Doctor Doom appeared as a boss antagonist and DLC playable character in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Maurice LaMarche. After the defeat of Thanos, cosmic forces began to notice that Earth was a potential threat to their existence. Knowing this, Doctor Doom decided to act where he took the Soul Stone and used it to gather the life force of the citizens of Latveria in order to awaken a long buried Celestial under his control that was to be used to battle the Earth's enemies.
Novels
- In The Chaos Engine Trilogy, Doctor Doom featured as an antagonist in the setting of the non-canon novels written by Steven Roman and Stan Timmons and published by iBooks. Doom was responsible for using a faulty Cosmic Cube to rewrite the history of the world according to his desires.
Appearances
- Fantastic Four v1: (1962)
- Thor v1:
- Incredible Hulk v1:
- Mighty Avengers v1:
- Dark Avengers v1:
- New Avengers v3:
- Infamous Iron Man v1:
- Avengers v7:
- Marvel 2-In-One v1: (2018)
- Fantastic Four v6: (2019)
- Doctor Doom v1: (2019)
- Savage Avengers v1: (2019)
- X-Men / Fantastic Four v2:
- Guardians of the Galaxy v6: (2021)
- Strange v3:
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